Visual displays play a crucial role in various electronic projects, providing a way to convey information to the user in a clear and intuitive manner. In the context of Arduino, visual displays can be used to show sensor readings, system status, or even create interactive interfaces. By leveraging the power of Arduino and its compatibility with various display modules, we can easily create projects that utilize visual feedback.

Project: In this example project, we will create a simple temperature monitoring system using an Arduino board and a 16x2 LCD display. The objective of this project is to display the temperature readings from a sensor on the LCD screen. Additionally, we will implement a threshold-based alert system that will display a warning message if the temperature exceeds a certain limit.

Components List:

• Arduino Uno board x1
• 16x2 LCD display module x1
• Temperature sensor (e.g., LM35) x1
• Breadboard x1
• Jumper wires

Examples:

1. Initializing the LCD display:

#include <LiquidCrystal.h>

// LCD module connections (change according to your setup)
LiquidCrystal lcd(12, 11, 5, 4, 3, 2);

void setup() {
  // Set up the number of columns and rows of the LCD display
  lcd.begin(16, 2);
  // Print a welcome message
  lcd.print("Temperature:");
}

void loop() {
  // Your code here
}

Explanation: The code above initializes the LCD display module using the LiquidCrystal library. The lcd.begin(16, 2) function sets the display to have 16 columns and 2 rows. The lcd.print("Temperature:") function prints the initial welcome message on the LCD screen.

2. Reading temperature from a sensor and displaying it on the LCD:

#include <LiquidCrystal.h>

LiquidCrystal lcd(12, 11, 5, 4, 3, 2);
const int temperaturePin = A0;

void setup() {
  lcd.begin(16, 2);
  lcd.print("Temperature:");
}

void loop() {
  // Read the analog value from the temperature sensor
  int temperatureValue = analogRead(temperaturePin);

  // Convert the analog value to temperature in degrees Celsius
  float temperature = (temperatureValue * 5.0 / 1023.0) * 100.0;

  // Clear the display
  lcd.clear();

  // Print the temperature on the LCD screen
  lcd.setCursor(0, 0);
  lcd.print("Temperature:");
  lcd.setCursor(0, 1);
  lcd.print(temperature);
  lcd.print(" C");

  delay(1000);
}

Explanation: The code above reads the analog value from a temperature sensor connected to pin A0. It then converts the analog value to temperature in degrees Celsius using a simple formula. The LCD display is cleared using lcd.clear() to remove any previous content. The temperature is then printed on the LCD screen using lcd.print() and lcd.setCursor() functions.